Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend a retreat of the cabinet on January 20-21 in Quebec, with an agenda of building the best of relations for Canada and guarding its interests with the United States. This ministerial meeting comes when US President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, against the background of his recent threats of imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and about possibly making Canada the 51st state.
According to a statement made by Trudeau, the retreat will focus on protecting Canada’s economic and security interests and will further focus on presenting the mutually beneficial trade and security ties between the two countries. Canada introduced a C$1.3 billion ($909 million) border security plan to improve surveillance, intelligence, and technology, in response to Trump’s threat of tariffs as he was worried about the issue of migration and drug movement across borders.
The retreat will focus on topics such as ways to expand trade between Canada and the US, strengthening supply chains, and jobs creation on both sides of the border. Despite recent announcements of stepping down as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, Trudeau will continue to guide Canada’s dealings with Trump until a new party leader is elected next March. The retreat is likely to define Canada’s approach to managing its relationship with the US in the face of the ongoing challenges posed by the new US administration.
